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Philadelphia's Struggles with Reaganomics and Crack Cocaine

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Philadelphia's Struggles with Reaganomics and Crack Cocaine Table of Contents: Introduction Glossier of Interviewees IV Introduction to the Project VII Chapter 1: The Structural Foundation of the Code of Silence: Philadelphia, 1945-1980 1.1 An integrated Philadelphia? 2 1.2 Got a Knuckle? Gang Violence in Latter Industrial Philadelphia 4 1.3 When Work Disappears: De-industrialization 5 1.4 A Failed Response to Crisis & the Dilapidation of North Philadelphia 7 1.5 The Effects of Failed Reform: Rioting & Hyper-Segregation 9 1.6 Philadelphia’s Black Independent Political Movements of the 1970s 13 1.7 A Failure to Integrate 17 Chapter 2: The 1980s: Philadelphia’s Struggles with Reaganomics and Crack Cocaine 2.1 Early 1980s: Reaganomics & The Nation 20 2.2 Early 1980s: Reaganomics & Philadelphia 21 2.3 The Crack Cocaine Epidemic 25 2.4 The Creation of a New Culture 31 2.5 Conclusion 35 Chapter 3: The War on Drugs & Its Implications in Philadelphia 3.1 The War on Drugs: A Bad Idea 37 3.2 Philadelphia Law Enforcement’s Inability to Protect 38 3.3 Mandatory Minimum Sentencing 42 3.4 Conclusion 45 Chapter 4: Stop Snitching: The Code of Silence in Contemporary Philadelphia 4.1 Introduction 48 4.2 Something New? The Code Didn’t Change, the Crimes Did 50 4.3 Why People Don’t Cooperate: Fear 53 4.4 Why People Don’t Cooperate: Culture 55 4.5 The Code of Silence & Detectives 58 4.6 The Code of Silence & Juries 62 4.7 A Problematic Approach? 63 Chapter 5: Seeing Through Masks: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Dwayne Brown 5.1 A Perfect Case Study 66 5.2 The Eyewitnesses 68 5.3 The Video Confession 76 5.4 The Commonwealth v. North Philadelphia: Mark Gilson’s Closing Argument 83 5.5 Conclusion 86 Bibliography 88 I II Introduction III Glossier of Interviewees Anonymous Detective: (Interviewed 1/24/2007) The gentleman I interviewed has been a detective for 17.5 years. Since 1993, he has been involved in the Organized Crime Unit. According to him, his primary function is to ‘turn snitches’ or generate cooperation. The gentleman denied my request to record our conversation. Dwayne Brown: (Interviewed 8/30/2006) On 2/10/2006, A jury convicted Dwayne Brown of a double homicide and imposed him to back to back life sentences. Mr. Brown was raised in a poverty stricken, drug-infested neighborhood of North Philadelphia, in a drug-infested house. Mr. Brown and his friends proved very adept at selling crack cocaine, garnering between $15,000 and $30,000 dollars per day. Mr. Brown admits his involvement in the drug trade, but maintains his innocence with regards to the double murder. The circumstances of Mr. Brown’s trial inspired this inquiry. I was not permitted to bring my recoding device to my session with Mr. Brown in Huntingdon Correctional Institution in Central Pennsylvania. Mr. Brown is an African American. Lavinia Brown: (Interviewed 8/20/2006) Lavinia Brown is Dwayne Brown’s mother. She has spent her entire life in North Philadelphia. Some years ago, she overcame a crack cocaine addiction. She currently works long hours in a secretarial job. Mrs. Brown is an African American. Paul George: (Interviewed 3/24/2007) George, along with Patricia McKinney, represented Dwayne Brown at trial. Prior to establishing his private firm with Ms. McKinney in 2003, George defended homicide cases for the Philadelphia Public Defenders, where he worked between 1982 and 2003. Mr. George is white. Paul Goldman: (Interviewed 8/24/2006) Paul Goldman is a District Attorney of the Habitual Offenders Unit (‘The Gangs Unit’) in Philadelphia. Prior to joining the District Attorney’s office, Mr. Goldman worked for the Public Defenders Office of Philadelphia. Mr. Goldman is white. Mark Gilson: (Interviewed 8/8/2006) Mark Gilson is perhaps the most feared, most respected, and best criminal prosecutor in the city of Philadelphia. He has been a prosecutor for 19 years. He handles the city’s toughest cases in the homicide unit, where he has worked since 1992. A Caucasian, Mr. Gilson was raised in a predominantly white neighborhood in North East Philadelphia. He has spent his entire life in Philadelphia. Wilson Goode: (Interviewed 2/6/2007) Wilson Goode was a very active figure in Philadelphia’s Independent Black Political Movement of the 1970s. In 1984, he became the first African American Mayor of Philadelphia, and he won reelection 1988. He currently heads a program entitled Amache, which offers support and development skills to children whose fathers are in prison. I interviewed Mr. Goode over the telephone, and was unable to obtain a suitable recording of our conversation. IV William Harvey: (Interviewed 8/20/2006). Mr. Harvey is Dwayne Brown’s father. He has spent his entire life in the same North Philadelphian neighborhood. Due to drug addiction, Mr. Harvey did not always live with Dwayne and Mrs. Brown. Currently, Mr. Harvey has recovered from his addiction, and holds a city job driving a truck. Recently, the city awarded Mr. Brown a promotion at this job. Mr. Brown is an African American. Renee Cardwell Hughes: (Interviewed 1/16/2007 & 1/17/2007). After being a corporate lawyer representing HMO for Blue Cross, Judge Hughes achieved a seat on the bench in 1995. Judge Hughes moved to Philadelphia in 1985. Judge Hughes presided over The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Dwayne Brown. Judge Hughes has also experienced infamous encounters with the Philadelphia Police, in which circumstances suggest that she was a victim of racial profiling by police officers who did not realize that they were dealing with a judge. Judge Hughes is African American. Thurgood Matthews: (Interviewed 1/19/2007) Thurgood Matthews is the Assistant Chief of the Homicide Unit of the Philadelphia Public Defenders Associations, and the department looks to Mr. Matthews to defend many of their most difficult murder cases. Mr. Matthews is from Coatesville, a small town near Philadelphia. After attending law school at Howard University, Mr. Matthews joined the Philadelphia Public Defenders in 1981, where he has worked ever since. Mr. Matthews is African American. George Mosee: (Interviewed 8/26/2006). Mr. Mosee heads the Delinquent Unit of the Philadelphia’s District Attorney’s Office. 51 years old, Mr. Mosee grew up in a similar section of North Philadelphia as Dwayne Brown. Mr. Mosee is African American. Laurence Nodiff: (Interviewed 1/22/2007) Laurence Nodiff holds the rank of Lieutenant in the Philadelphia Police Department. He works in the Detective Bureau. He began his career as a Patrol Officer in high crime areas in 1974. Mr. Nodiff is white. Mr. Nodiff declined my request to record our conversation. Candace Putter: (Interviewed 3/25/2007) Mrs. Putter manages the Philadelphia’s Re- integration initiative which is a partnership between the Department of Human Services, Family Court, among other agencies, to oversee the reintegration of youth who have been placed in out of home delinquent placements, and to oversee their reintegration back into the communities, schools, and families. She is white. James Randolph: (Interviewed 8/29/2006) James Randolph is currently the Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, Juvenile Justice Division, which is responsible for overseeing and paying for services for delinquent youth. Mr. Randolph has lived in Philadelphia his entire life, and he grew up in the same poverty stricken neighborhood of North Philadelphia as Dwayne Brown. Mr. Randolph is African American. V Mary Rehill: (Interviewed 1/24/2007) Mary Rehill has been a Philadelphia Police Officer, working on the streets for 20 years. She specializes in narcotics. Mrs. Rehill is white. Mrs. Rehill declined my request to record our conversation. VI Drug corner. Gambling corner. York St. & Cleveland St., North Philadelphia. December 4th, 2000. Monday, 8:45 PM. Shots fired. Two men murdered, a third critically injured. Multiple gunmen, multiple guns. Sure, we could dress it up a little bit… Maybe Heavy had just reached the corner with a full plate of chicken wings from the Dominican Store on the corner. Maybe Manny, the hard-headed crack dealer, had won money on the dice that evening, adding to an adrenaline rush caused by being on a corner that he had no business being on. Maybe Tata, the neighborhood barber, held the dice in one hand and a five dollar bill in the other, wondering whether it was worth the risk. Maybe the large crowd of men on the corner egged him on. Maybe Jaasan Walker and his brothers Fuss and Cub pulled ski masks down over their faces in the alleyway between the Dominican store and the vacant lot on York St. Maybe it was Jaason and Dwayne Stacey Brown in the alleyway on the Cleveland St. side. Maybe Dwayne was nowhere near the alleyway that night. Maybe Jaason didn’t want to go through with it. Maybe they were both ready. Maybe they quickly rolled out of the alleyway while Tata picked up winnings from the dice game, oblivious to the newcomers. Don King, on the other hand, happened to be looking at the alley, and he tipped Manny off to the new comers’ arrival with a nod of the head. Manny reaches into his sweatpants for his Glock-9, but it’s too late, because Jassan and Stacey have both opened fire, not necessarily trying to kill everyone, but indiscriminately shooting into the crowded area where Manny stood. VII Manny died instantly, with his right hand in his pocket, gripping his gun. Tata staggered, dropping the dice, but not the money, soon to realize that the surreal sensation that swept through his body was caused by the bullet lodged in his groin.
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